U.S.-Japan, Korea and China Time Difference After Nov. 1, 2026: Tokyo Is 14 Hours Ahead

U.S. clocks fall back one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, and from then New York is 14 hours behind Tokyo and Seoul and 13 hours behind Beijing, up from 13 and 12 hours. The rule comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and none of the three countries moves its clocks, so the whole change lands on the U.S. side. A one-page printable U.S. to Japan, Korea and China time chart is on this page for your desk.

The figures below are our calculation from the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) offsets in the time zone database and NIST’s dates. Japan Standard Time (JST) and Korea Standard Time (KST) are both UTC+9. Beijing Time, the China standard time, is UTC+8.

Do Japan, South Korea and China change their clocks on Nov. 1, 2026?

No. The time zone database that phones and computers use, kept by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), lists Asia/Tokyo at UTC+9, Asia/Seoul at UTC+9 and Asia/Shanghai at UTC+8, and none has a current daylight saving time (DST) rule. Its rule lines show Japan last used DST from 1948 to 1951, South Korea in 1987 and 1988, and China from 1986 to 1991.

China officially uses one time zone nationwide, Beijing Time. The IANA file also notes Xinjiang time, which many people in western China use informally; this story uses Beijing Time.

The U.S. side does change. NIST says that “during 2026, daylight saving time is in effect from March 8 at 2 a.m. (local time) to November 1 at 2 a.m. (local time).” Eastern Time (ET) goes from Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4) to Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5), and the other zones move the same way. Our report on the U.S. change covers the full rule.

How far ahead of each U.S. zone are Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing?

U.S. zone	UTC offset until Oct. 31 / from Nov. 1	Tokyo and Seoul ahead until Oct. 31	Tokyo and Seoul ahead from Nov. 1	Beijing ahead until Oct. 31	Beijing ahead from Nov. 1
Eastern (New York)	UTC-4 / UTC-5	13 hours	14 hours	12 hours	13 hours
Central (Chicago)	UTC-5 / UTC-6	14 hours	15 hours	13 hours	14 hours
Mountain (Denver)	UTC-6 / UTC-7	15 hours	16 hours	14 hours	15 hours
Pacific (Los Angeles)	UTC-7 / UTC-8	16 hours	17 hours	15 hours	16 hours
Alaska (Anchorage)	UTC-8 / UTC-9	17 hours	18 hours	16 hours	17 hours
Arizona (Phoenix, Mountain Standard Time all year)	UTC-7 / UTC-7	16 hours	16 hours	15 hours	15 hours
Hawaii (Honolulu)	UTC-10 / UTC-10	19 hours	19 hours	18 hours	18 hours

NIST says that “DST is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the state of Arizona” with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe it. So Phoenix and Honolulu keep their gaps, while the Navajo Nation in Arizona follows the Nov. 1 change.

What time is it in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing when each U.S. zone changes?

Each U.S. zone changes at 2 a.m. on its own clock, so the moment arrives at a different hour in Asia. All of these fall on the afternoon or evening of Sunday, Nov. 1 in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing (checked against the UTC offsets).

U.S. zone, 2 a.m. daylight time on Nov. 1	UTC	Tokyo and Seoul	Beijing
New York	06:00	3 p.m.	2 p.m.
Chicago	07:00	4 p.m.	3 p.m.
Denver	08:00	5 p.m.	4 p.m.
Los Angeles	09:00	6 p.m.	5 p.m.
Anchorage	10:00	7 p.m.	6 p.m.

Which call times work between the U.S. and East Asia from Nov. 1?

The grid starts from the Tokyo or Seoul clock and shows the same moment in Beijing and in three U.S. zones, valid from Nov. 1 until March 2027. “Day before” means the previous calendar day in the U.S.

Tokyo or Seoul	Beijing	New York	Chicago	Los Angeles
7 a.m.	6 a.m.	5 p.m., day before	4 p.m., day before	2 p.m., day before
8 a.m.	7 a.m.	6 p.m., day before	5 p.m., day before	3 p.m., day before
9 a.m.	8 a.m.	7 p.m., day before	6 p.m., day before	4 p.m., day before
10 a.m.	9 a.m.	8 p.m., day before	7 p.m., day before	5 p.m., day before
9 p.m.	8 p.m.	7 a.m., same day	6 a.m., same day	4 a.m., same day
10 p.m.	9 p.m.	8 a.m., same day	7 a.m., same day	5 a.m., same day
11 p.m.	10 p.m.	9 a.m., same day	8 a.m., same day	6 a.m., same day

So 8 a.m. in Tokyo is 6 p.m. the evening before in New York and 3 p.m. in Los Angeles. Going the other way, 9 a.m. in New York is 11 p.m. in Tokyo and Seoul and 10 p.m. in Beijing on the same day.

Does a standing call with Japan, South Korea or China move on Nov. 1?

On U.S. clocks, yes; on Asian clocks, no. A call fixed at 8 a.m. Tokyo time was at 7 p.m. in New York the day before until Oct. 31 and is at 6 p.m. from Nov. 1. A call fixed in New York time lands one hour later on the Tokyo clock instead: 9 a.m. in New York was 10 p.m. in Tokyo until Oct. 31 and is 11 p.m. from Nov. 1. Phones update on their own when the automatic time zone setting is on, but an invite saved in a fixed zone needs a manual check. For a country that also keeps one offset all year, see the U.S.-Philippines time-difference story and the U.S.-India story.

When do the gaps with Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing shrink again?

Under 15 U.S.C. 260a and the NIST rule that DST begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March, daylight saving time returns on Sunday, March 14, 2027 (our calculation). New York will then be 13 hours behind Tokyo and Seoul and 12 hours behind Beijing again.

Quick checklist for Nov. 1

• Find your U.S. zone in the first table and add the hours to get Tokyo, Seoul or Beijing time.
• Recheck any recurring call with East Asia: for every zone that changes, a call fixed in Asian time moves one hour earlier on U.S. clocks.
• Mark Nov. 1 on a November 2026 printable calendar or a printable weekly calendar.